THE WELCOME BONUS OFFER DETAILED BELOW HAS EXPIRED – Click here to see the latest offer for this card
The welcome bonus offer for the HSBC World Elite® Mastercard® that provides up to 80,000 bonus HSBC Rewards points has been extended. There is a slight change to how the welcome bonus is awarded however as you will now earn 10,000 bonus points each month you $1,000 over the course of the first 6 months. This should make some new applicants happy as you can earn the entire bonus in 6 months instead of 12 months! You simply need to make sure that you do spend $1,000 per billing cycle for those first 6 months so that you don’t miss any part of the bonus.
On top of the new 80,000 point bonus is also a first year annual fee rebate for the primary cardholder. Once you have those 80,000 points they are worth $400 towards any travel! Since Quebec doesn’t allow the first year free waiver the offer there is 110,000 points worth $550 towards travel but you do have to pay the annual fee so you end up with $401 in travel value.
The Welcome Bonus and Earn Rates
The bonus outside of Quebec is awarded as follows:
- Welcome bonus of 20,000 points* ($100 travel value)
- Earn 10,000 points* each month when you spend at least $1,000 each month for the first 6 months of account opening (up to $300 travel value)
and the card’s purchase earn rates are as follows:
- 6 Points for $1 in Net Purchases which are Travel Purchases. This earn rate applies to a maximum of $50,000 in Travel Purchases on the Account in a calendar year. After the maximum is reached, the earn rate of 2 Points for $1 in Travel Purchases applies. (6 points per dollar equates to a 3% return for travel)
- 4 Points for $1 in Net Purchases that are Gas, Grocery and Drugstore Purchases (4 points per dollar equates to a 2% return for travel)
- 2 Points for $1 in Net Purchases, other than Travel, Gas, Grocery and Drugstore Purchases (2 points per dollar equates to a 1% return for travel)
Point Value & Redemption Options
The 80,000 points bonus once achieved are worth $400 in travel rewards but in fact you will have at least 92,000 points as you would be earning a minimum 2 points per dollar on the $6,000 in required spend. For travel redemptions with HSBC you actually book travel on your own and then redeem points against the charge once it posts to your account. You can redeem with this method once your account has reached 25,000 points and in 10,000 point multiples above that.
We love that flexible option for any travel but this card isn’t just for that since it is actually a Hybrid Card. This means points can also be converted to partners outside of HSBC Rewards. In this card’s case, they can be transferred to British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and this new welcome bonus is very attractive for those people looking to boost their accounts in these frequent flyer programs.
The points convert as follows:
- 2.5 points to 1 British Airways Executive Club Avios
- 3 points to 1.35 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Miles
- 3 points to 1.2 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
This means the sign up bonus is worth up to 32,000 Avios (36,800 if you take into account the minimum spending) in British Airways’ Executive Club which if you have followed us for sometime now know that is a good amount for a lot of various redemptions. And with the news of Qatar Airways Privilege Club officially moving to Avios as its loyalty currency and allowing direct 1:1 transfers from British Airways, the HSBC World Elite Mastercard can play a big part in earning Avios to redeem on Qatar Airways! It only takes 70,000 Avios to redeem for a one way Qatar Airways Qsuite business class award flight between Montreal and Doha so with this bonus and some spending on the card you can easily get to that number. In fact, chances are you can get there even sooner as HSBC typically offers a bonus once or twice per year when you convert your HSBC Rewards Points to British Airways Executive Club.
No Foreign Transaction fees, $100 travel credit & more
The sign up bonus and conversion options aren’t the only good feature about this card however. One of its best selling features is that it has No Foreign Transaction fees which saves you 2.5% on average on all non-C$ purchases. It also comes with a $100 annual travel enhancement credit (to use on bag fees, seat selection etc) and like most World Elite Mastercards in Canada it has airport lounge access membership via DragonPass, free Boingo WiFi and more.
Recommend Reading: The Ultimate No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Card Portfolio
The points can also be redeemed for many other non-travel items like merchandise, experiences, gift cards, HSBC financial products and even for any purchases made on the card. HSBC calls this last option their Cash Back Rebate and is 25,000 points for a $75 statement credit. That works out to a 0.9% to 1.8% return (based on 3 points for everyday spending and 6 points for travel) and also makes the welcome bonus of 80,000 points worth $240 for cash back rebates.
The Best Card for those 65 and over!
The recent changes to card also saw an enhancement the insurance coverage provided on the card. It was improved for all cardholders but most notably HSBC added 21 day out of province emergency medical coverage for anyone 65 and over. This is the longest coverage duration out of any cards in Canada for this age group and unlike some of the other cards, it doesn’t cut off at 74 years of age.
Recommended Reading: The Ultimate Travel Credit Card Portfolio for those 65 and over
Wrapping it up
HSBC continues to offer a very attractive welcome bonus offer of up to 80,000 points on their HSBC World Elite Mastercard. In this most recent update to the welcome offer they have adjusted how those points are earned as you now have to make sure you can spend $1,000 per month on the card for the first six months but in the end you’ll have the 80,000 points sooner than the previous offering.
Click here to learn more about and/or apply for the HSBC World Elite Mastercard.
HSBC also offers a no annual fee travel rewards card, the HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard® which may appeal to some who utilize other cards as their primary credit cards but are looking to fill their Mastercard requirement for places like Costco. The no fee HSBC Travel Rewards Mastercard is currently offering a welcome bonus of 25,000 points when you spend $1,000 in the first 180 days. Click here to learn more about this card.
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